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Companies Flock to Cities With Top Talent

As businesses decide where to expand and hire, ‘people are the natural resources’

By

Lauren Weber

April 12, 2016 1:39 p.m. ET

Last year, Salesforce.com Inc. handed its recruiters a near-impossible task: hire thousands of engineers and account executives in some of the tightest U.S. labor markets, including the software firm’s hometown of San Francisco.

Candidates were declining offers and recruiting costs were rising. “We got our asses handed to us,” said Ana Recio, Salesforce’s recruiting head. But business leaders resisted moving critical roles out of San Francisco.